Women's Bantabaa aspiration is always to tell a story that has never been told and bring a story to public that are always waving the flag of freedom yet standby silently with the concerning situation of the people, their narratives, their perspectives, their understanding of the world around them, without feeling that they are constantly defending their religious and cultural identity.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Rural Women Deserve Better

The Gambia has though made some notable improvements in promoting gender equity in recent times, nonetheless, the reality remains that majority of Gambian women in general, rural women in particular continue to play a subservient role.
Their situation remains precarious – scratching poor quality soil with crude tools or bare hands in some instances for the survival of their families, yet they are considered second class family members. They are often battered and received barking orders to be served meals and provided other services as if they are slaves, not intimate partners.
As The Gambia joined the international community in celebrating International Rural Women day last Sunday, rural women say they deserve better. WOMEN’S BANTABA WRITES

Neneh Jali Janko is a widow from an unnamed rural village, who lost her husband some three years ago.
But if life, as it is said, is an admixture of bitter and sweet, Neneh had her fairer share of the bitter than sweet part of life and the prospect of overturning her insecure life is slim, especially now that her husband is no more.
“Life is so unfair to women especially rural women,” she says. “When my husband died, his family took away the land I was farming, leaving me destitute.
“I think I deserve better than that, after living in that family for years, bear children,” she added.
The Rural Women’s Day, set aside by the United Nations is meant to focus world's attention on roles of rural women, but also the challenges facing women like Neneh in their daily lives.

To raise the profile of rural women, sensitise government and public on the crucial roles and fight inequality and prejudices against rural women, UN honors the roles of rural women on 15 October each year, a day before the world food day, 16 October because of their key role in food production
It recognises rural women’s importance in enhancing agricultural and rural development worldwide,
It is a day that offers the world the opportunity to reflect on the status of women, with the objectives of highlighting their contributions, achievements as well as their limitations in terms of promotion of gender equality and empowerment at all levels.

And its one year since some rural women raised alarm about the life challenges of a rural woman to Musoolula Bantabaa (women’s forum) during the Day’s celebrations held in Brikamaba.
The rural women pointed out that despite their efforts in bringing food into the family, they have little or no say in the way the family spends its income.
Some disclosed that they depend on men for access to farm lands, which are sometimes of poor quality. Fertilizers and tractors they said are given to men who plough all their farms before considering that of the women.
These women remain in the same situation, today. They said, no action has been taken to change the status quo.
Maran Jambang, 55, is a vegetable farmer in her home village of Basse Koba Kunda and treks every morning to her farm some 2 kilometers. This is part of her daily economic routine, which supports her family.
“If you are a woman living in a rural area, you are likely to be poorer than a man, more vulnerable, owns no land, be less educated and in poorer health,” she says.
“Government and women’s right activities should bear in mind that poverty hits hardest at the rural women and should come in to help us."
“Nothing has changed since last year. The rural woman is just so unfortunate” she said “I still spend the whole day in my farm monitoring the cattle’s from entering my farm since I don’t want to share it with them.”
Binta who has managed her farm fence for two occasions said rural women should be motivated. She said she support her family with which she take to the market.
According to these women government should double its efforts to advance conditions for women in their country. They offered a vivid portrait of the challenges women faced: employment discrimination, inadequate health care, domestic violence, antiquated laws that hindered women's progress.
Action Aid International’s Hunger FREE Scorecard, which was launched in Brikamaba on the celebration of international rural women day, The Gambia is among 20 out of 28 developing countries without possibility of meeting fulfilling its promise in meeting Millennium Development Goal 1 of halving hunger by 2015.
Neglecting the small scale farmers with limited extension support, inadequate access to production inputs, and poor access to markets operating have worsened the situation of hungry people resulting to absolute poverty.
Rural women however, believed if the tractors, fertilizers are given to them to maximise their production, they could help in reducing rising hunger and poverty in The Gambia.
This is supported by reports, which suggest that gender equality and increasing rural women’s rural women's agricultural production and participation in the labour force will help reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.
Reports went on to point out that that unequal treatment of men and women poses serious threat to achieving MDGs. ’
According to Madinding Damba, rural woman farmer suffer unfairness in the access to resources needed for socio-economic development. Credit, extension, input and seed supply services usually address the needs of male household heads.
Mariama Cham, a primary school teacher in Basse Manneh Kunda said rural women's lack of access to education and assets is directly linked to high rates of child and infant mortality and the vast majority of maternal deaths.
She said millions of death every year could be prevented through better access for women to reproductive health services.
“Despite making more than a quarter of the world population rural women are rarely consulted in development projects that may increase men’s production and income, but add to their workloads,” Mariama said.
She lamented that when work burden increase, girls are removed from school more than boys, to help with farming and household tasks.

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About Me

Binta A Bah is a young Gambian journalists/blogger who is excited, on the sustainability reporting front which she took as massive a headway as a career. She is the publisher of women’s Bantabaa, an online blog which focuses on human rights, particularly women’s right, press freedom and freedom of expression. She started the journalism trade with The Daily News in 2009 while pursuing a one year certificate course in journalism at Insight Training Center. She hold a diploma in journalism. At The Daily News, she rose through the ranks to become a senior judicial affairs correspondent. She has a vast experience of covering high profile cases including treason trials. She run the ‘Musoolula Bantabaa’ on the Daily News, a weekly column that focuses on women’s affairs. In 2011, she was awarded The Daily News Journalist of the year. She now works with the Standard Newspaper as an associate editor following the closure of The Daily News by state authorities.